Jumbo looks to combat loneliness with chatty cashiers

Supermarket chain Jumbo is doing its part to combat loneliness by opening 200 new chat cash registers next year. These are cash registers especially for people who'd "like to have a chat" at checkout, the supermarket chain said, Trouw reports.

The idea for the chat cash register was thought up two years ago and the first one was opened in the summer of 2019. According to Jumbo, it was a great success and the "time is right" to expand the concept. Jumbo will focus on areas where loneliness is a common problem when expanding this project.

Loneliness has long been a problem in many parts of the Netherlands, and that increased during the pandemic and its related lockdowns. Researchers from Maastricht University previously calculated that severe loneliness costs society 2 billion euros per year in extra care. According to that study, about a tenth of Netherlands residents feel seriously or very lonely, and about 40 percent experience loneliness to some extent.